Cleverley: Man Utd youngsters will benefit from UEFA Youth League

Cleverley insists he would love to have been involved in the UEFA Youth League as a young player.

"The young lads have got a set-up now that's exactly like the first team - they're playing in the league, the UEFA Youth League and the Youth Cup which is like our FA Cup," he told MUTV. "It's almost an exact copy of what we do in the first team and it's great for them to get experience against different nationalities and travel like we do. I wish I'd had this experience when I was younger.

"Sociedad will be a good, technical side and will pass the ball well like all Spanish teams do. It's good for our lads to be presented with different challenges against Shakhtar [Donetsk], [Bayer] Leverkusen and Sociedad in this group."

Cleverley hopes supporters will get behind the Reds at the game, before heading to Old Trafford to see the first team in action: "It's an ideal opportunity [for fans] to see the future," added the midfielder. "It's a good standard of football and hopefully the lads can do well."